Canon Pyon

Artificial Mound

Canon Pyon (Artificial Mound) on The Modern Antiquarian, the UK & Ireland's most popular megalithic community website. 5 images, 2 fieldnotes, plus information on many more ancient sites nearby and across the UK & Ireland.

Images (click to view fullsize)

Fieldnotes

Visited 27.6.10.
This was a bit odd. I drove up the country lane towards the site only to see a sign which stated the road was private - access only to houses along the lane. I looked again at the O/S map which shows it to be a normal lane. Anyway I continued my journey up the lane past Butthouse towards King's Pyon. I did get a stare from a woman doing the gardening in one of the very posh houses but nothing was said. (as an aside you drive past a small detached black and white medieval looking building on your left - pretty).
The barrow itself has a fence around it with large trees growing on the top. There doesn't appear to be any public access to the barrow although access to the field would be via a metal gate. I chose to view from the lane as even if you did go in the field you would still have to climb over the fence surrounding the barrow.

After my visit to Bush Bank standing stone and the slight weirdness of Kings Pyon church, it's a relief to find this excellent round barrow. It stands on a natural rise, between the two conical hills of Pyon Hill and the nearer Butthouse Knapp. A very large mound with a flattened top, as yet unexcavated. It is unfortunately fenced off but is clearly visible from the road. This must be the largest round barrow in Herefordshire, covered with trees and very reminiscent of the large round barrows along the Ridgeway near Overton Hill in Wiltshire.

[When I got home I checked it out on Pastscape, which now appears to assign this as a motte. I'm not convinced, as it is totally overlooked by the much higher and within easy bow-shot Butthouse Knapp, making it a nightmare to defend. Having said that, there are many more mottes than round barrows around here. Until it's excavated, we'll probably never know for sure.]